Chrono24 – a leading online marketplace for luxury watches – recently announced that internationally acclaimed soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo (through CR7 SA) has become an investor. “CR7” as Ronaldo is known worldwide and is equally known amongst the watch lover community for being one of the most avid personal collectors of timepieces.
Cristiano Ronaldo joins previous Chrono24 investors, including Bernard Arnault’s family investment company Aglae Ventures, General Atlantic, Insight Partners, and Sprints Capital – who together led Chrono24’s Series C round in August 2021, worth $118 million (€100 million) and solidifying the watch market’s unicorn status with a valuation today exceeding $1 billion.
It was reported in Forbes’ recent Highest Paid Athletes of 2023 report that Ronaldo made $136 million last year alone from his contracts with the UK’s Manchester United and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, as well as endorsements – and an all-time high for a football player He was equally recognized for being the most marketable Athlete of 2022 by SportsPro.
Since the company’s establishment in 2003, Chrono24 led the way in the digital marketplace space. And as a known disruptor in the luxury watch world, Chrono24 has forever changed how people shop for luxury watches, offering accessibility, transparency, and connectivity to enthusiasts that span the entire world.
Chrono24 continues to be led by founder and Co-CEO Tim-Stracke; Co-CEO (and former TeamViewer CEO) Holger Felgner; Most existing shareholders co-invested alongside the new investors. And the CR7 SA investment follows Chrono24’s Series above C round, as well as its 2019 Series B financing of €43 million from Sprints Capital, former Richemont director Gianni Serazzi, and YOOX-NET-A-PORTER founder Alberto Grignolo, among others, as well as the company’s €37 million Series A from Insight Partners in 2015.
Ronaldo is a forward for al-Nassr FC and captains Portugal’s national team. And he has amassed 5 Ballon d’Or Awards, 4 European Golden Shoes, 32 trophies, seven league titles, 5 UEFA Champions Leagues, 1 UEFA European Championship, and 1 UEFA Nations League – not to mention 140 goals and 42 assists in the Champions League and a record of 835 goals scored for club and country. CR7 boasts an awe-worthy Instagram following of more than 592M, where watch-spotting enthusiasts clamor to view the sporting legend’s ever show-stopping wrist collection.
KEY QUOTES:
“As a long-term watch collector and regular user of Chrono24, it’s a pleasure for me to become a shareholder in the company now. Chrono24 unites millions of watch lovers from all around the world to share in their passion, together – that global unification is something I know well and am thrilled to be a part of.”
– Cristiano Ronaldo
“No one brings passion for luxury watches to the world stage quite like Cristiano. He has already solidified his place as one of the greatest athletes in history, and as an investor shows astute knowledge of world-class luxury and technology. That coupled with his authentic, proven passion for watch collecting makes him the perfect teammate as our company moves further into global expansion and our next chapter.”
– Chrono24 CEO Tim Stracke
